italy :: general

[faust]

St. Maria di Novella is not to be missed - best artisanal perfumes in the world. IMHO, Luisa via Roma is total eurotrash - their website looks better than the store, trust me.

[youreit]

will be able to go to either destination for new years partying and id like to do some shopping/touristy things aswell. mainly interested in designer goods for cheap prices, thanks guys!

[C0C0]

well i guess is known for shopping, however other than that there's not much to do. and if you've never been to italy, i think rome would give you more of a memorable experience. if you do your research now there's also excursions to the discount centers outside of the main city.

[kobezzz]

i live in italy you council to visit if you succeed if you have time to visit florence, Cremona(my city)famous for the violin (stradivari).

-in milan good storees are:

-purple (corso di porta ticinese/near colonne of san lorenzo) for edwin,nudie,evisu,2k,april77(not sure)

-stussy/carhatt/gas(there are in corso di porta ticinese near purple)

-10 corso como(corso come 10) for bape,2k comme des garcons (it's very expensive this store but wounderfoul)

-dantone(daad) (via matteotti 20 or via santospirito 24/a) http://www.dantone.com/

-if you want see the boutique of dolge and gabbana,gucci,armani,burberry go to Via moltenapoleone

-h&m and zara (near square dome)

(sry for my bag english!!)

[youreit]

which city are the discount centers outside of? rome or milan

[kobezzz]

YOU ARE SPEAKING ABOUT this outlet http://www.enjoyflorence.com/english/outlet.html?

because near rome i know only this outlet http://castelromano.mcarthurglen.it/index.php?lang=en

[youreit]

good lookin out kobezzzzzzzzz

[braid]

Looks like I have the opportunity to visit this part of Italy next month. I know it's not the most prime destination but was wondering if there was any good shopping nearby. I've heard a few local towns have custom shoe makers but that's about it. Any info or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

[braid]

I'll be in Italy for about a week next month and looking for suggestions on how to dress appropriately. I know Italians are very particularly about their clothes so I dont want to look like a douche. I wear jeans exclusively, will this be a problem? Should I wear some sort of slacks as well? I wear my fitted shirts untucked; is this considered ok? I've also heard not to wear any sort of sneaker (ie chucks, vans, etc). Is this true, should i only stick with dress shoes/loafers?

I know this is a rather stupid post but I want to be as educated before going as possible. Thanks for any and all suggestions.

[corporategrunt]

It depends on where you go and what you do. If you are visiting a tourist site, or engaging in tourist activities - nobody will be expecting you to be dressed in any 'particular' way. Just be in a comfortable attire to trek around.

If you have any special activties planned i.e. dinner at nice restaurants, concerts - the dress code is pretty universal - you want to show some level of respect for the venue. Nice boutiques in Milan, Firenze or any majot Italian city will attract tourists (yes many of them are Asian) dressed in hideous garbs and that doesn't stop the customers from buying shit

Sure there are plenty of great italian brands, that doesn't mean every men dresses well - there will be plenty of youths in tacky greaseball attire (Diesel OD), and grown man wearing some tacky classless shit as well - regardless of the effort you may put into blend in, chances are they will easily spot you as a foreigner.

I'd do more research on the activities that you may enjoy, or restaurants that you should check out.

[englandmj7]

It depends on where you go and what you do. If you are visiting a tourist site, or engaging in tourist activities - nobody will be expecting you to be dressed in any 'particular' way. Just be in a comfortable attire to trek around.

Word. Definitely depends, in part, on the context you will be spending most of your visit in. Work? Leisure? Lots of fancy restaurants?, etc.

I dressed the same as I always do when (button-up shirt, leather shoes/boots, jeans) I was there a couple years ago and had no problem or uncomfortability in talking to women, going to restaurants/bars, shopping and the like. Sure, Italy has great fashion, but it's not like you will be glared upon any less than you would in, say New York, for wearing pajama pants out to lunch. Plus, don't forget the the "eurotrash" pumas and distressed jeans look, etc. originated in Italy........the country has its down side.

[Kasper]

i think the whole "all italians have good fashion sense" thing is overrated.for all good dressers, there will be tons of eurotrashy ugly ass with half a bottle of gel in their hair.

the main difference i found while i was there was that ppl dressed up a lot more that here (while going out eating or clubbing). i went clubbing a few times wearing a suit, something i almost never do otherwise. but maybe it has more about the friends i have there, all are Bocconi alumni (Italy's top business school which has a reputation for having rich snobby ppl).

[doczein]

As they say,

When in Rome.

[faust]

Like Eurotrash. Here, IHT offers a quick guide.

http://iht.com/articles/2007/02/25/news/rstyle26.php

[Hypebitch]

this thread is like asking for help to avoid italians ramping your ass

[swisloc]

i think the whole "all italians have good fashion sense" thing is overrated.for all good dressers, there will be tons of eurotrashy ugly ass with half a bottle of gel in their hair.

2nd. when i was living there a few years ago i realized that while there certainly are plenty of impecably dressed men and women (formal & casual) in italy they are vastly outnumbered by those dressing like stylized american jackasses (i.e. "eurotrash") in crazy distressed diesel and gas (yes, that is a REAL italian denim brand) jeans with huge wraparound sunglasses and stupid box-toe shoes. if you are well dressed here, you will be well dressed there as well.

Also, as far as restaurants go, i'd say quality of restaurant dictates dress far less there than it does in the states due to the huge number of amazing trattorias (more traditional, communal restaurants) which have a designation as mid-level in Italy. as a rule, these are to be casual dining, yet the food is better than any "casual" place you'd eat at state side...

[darkanimal]

If all else fail...CMF homme

[braid]

If all else fail...CMF homme

lol:D

thanks everyone for your insight. sounds like i have nothing to worry about. now i just have to find that perfect pair of italian boots

[Roland]

Just be sure to bring some shades, the sightseeing is great.

If you want to fit in:

God I miss Italy

[braid]

one more question...

i will be mostly in southern Italy. is there decent shopping in Taranto, Brindisi, Lecce, etc?

[jubei]

Naples (or the train station at least) is mad sketchy... when we stopped there on the way to pompeii, there was a dead dog in the station, just lying on the floor.

As for dressing... if you want to fit in, dress like gaudy, cheesy eurotrash. Energie and D&G all the way. Otherwsie, I'd say just dress like yourself, your fits in WAWYT usually are on point.

[swisloc]

i will be mostly in southern Italy. is there decent shopping in Taranto, Brindisi, Lecce, etc?

it depends what kind you are looking for. the best shopping in italy for italian designer brands is in milan and florence (as that is where most of them are located). So in that case, no.

If you are looking for niche brand custom italian suits or similar, maybe ask in Styleforum about the location of these tailors.

as to Napoli, it takes "some getting used to" to say the least. try being anywhere near the stadium after a Napoli victory, and see dad's driving Vespas cutting in and out of traffic w/ children riding on there shoulders and backs cheering. no joke.

[C0C0]

jeez i was so disappointed in the fashion when I went

[seraphim]

jeez i was so disappointed in the fashion when I went

same, in Milan all the women wear quilted coats, straight cut jeans/trousers and white trainers. sunglasses are a must, despite it rarely being sunny. No one wears skirts, so my green peacockfeather design skirt and brown leather boots got me a mass of dirty looks. Men all dress like they're gay and have just left a fashion industry party.

It was most depressing, to say the least. Though I did see a disproportionate amount of children in costumes, which was sweet.

[forlan]

I always thought the euro-trash style originally came from Spain and Portugal. And that it's even scetchier variation with the Puma Cats and 1992-style shades and all that stupid shit was from Germany and Holland.

It's a good idea to keep your shirt on anyway. I was in Rome a few years a go and for some reason (maybe skateboarding with no shirt on for like 8 hours in Ostia) had my skin burned so bad that it caused some allergic-type of reaction preventing me from wearing a shirt on the flight home. The trip back home was seriously 8 hours of hell starting with waking up to a sensation similar to something like a million needles being stuck into you every time your upper body skin touches any garment, water, what so ever.

People were surprisingly cool about someone not having a shirt on in a public place like an airport though. It's a catholic country anyway. Maybe it was because I was hella skinny back then so I must've looked quite young. I was rushed to the nearest hospital and was completely wrapped up like a mummy right after arriving back to Finland. That really was some crazy shit.

[mikey_b]

I'm looking for suggestions. I'm based out of Florence but I'll be going to Rome and Milan, among others.

I like APC and thrift store stuff. I've seen a lot of amazingly bad clothing so far. The only exception is old dudes. Isn't Italy known for this crap?

[C0C0]

yeah mikey...we are all disappointed once arriving there lol

[mikey_b]

Well I know they've got some scheduled sales, where like everything is on sale. Anyone know when those are? I need to figure out if I'm still going to be around..

[kobezzz]

in italy there isn'r apc store!!!

In milan if you want (richmond,undercover,dior,D&G,LV,AMK,) you can go to Dmagazine (in Montenapoleone 26-or Via forcella(behind Porta Genoa station)(there are 50-70% of sale)

[swisloc]

january and july (for the nationally schedules sales).

dude. italy isn't known for streetwear (jeans, thrift stuff, sneakers, etc...). do yourself a favor and don't worry about eurotrash clothing and eat so much amazing food you can't fit in your cures!